


Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Kingdom of Crystal

by Eighth_Notes



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Friendship, Original Character(s), Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, original continent or whatever they call regions in pmd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:47:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24951814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eighth_Notes/pseuds/Eighth_Notes
Summary: An old man told an ancient legend to a group of children, a Shaymin awakened in a forest and met a Pancham, and a strange force began to corrupt the land itself.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	1. The Legend.

**Author's Note:**

> Occasionally (but not always), there are links to music to accompany certain scenes in this. These aren’t required listening, so feel free to ignore them. I’ve tried to find extended versions of each song, but in cases where that isn’t possible you can right click videos on YouTube and set them to loop. Story beta'd by SilverStorm0.

[ [Personality Test] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEjjZ8I77Lg)

Once upon a time,

long, long ago…

In a place beyond the sea, there existed a palace made of jewels.

Beloved by all, the land itself glistened and glimmered with a crystalline sheen.

It was beautiful.

And in that place--that palace--there lived a mighty king.

He was loved by the ones who lived there, too.

They called him the Silver King.

Called that for the purity and beauty of his kingdom.

But there was another, the Silver King’s brother.

One who was just as, if not more beloved.

Despite having no kingdom to rule and call his own...

The Silver King’s brother went among the Pokémon of the land.

He shared in their happiness and sorrow, and gave everything he could to help them.

And he was loved.

Rejoicing, they called him the Fairy King.

However, because of this adoration, or perhaps in spite of it…

The Silver King grew jealous.

Obsessive, even.

He saw how his kingdom’s Pokémon loved and celebrated his brother.

He became blinded by envy, and could no longer see the love his subjects had for him.

And they  _ did _ love him.

Secretly, the Silver King began to work an ancient, secret magic.

One born from the bitter aftertaste of the legacies of so many power-hungry magicians.

Until, one day, his jewelled palace began to change.

From bright and clear to sickly and foggy.

Even the land itself began to dull.

And when his magic was done, he called the Fairy King, alone, to his court...

Then ran his own brother’s heart through with a crystalline spear.

One as bile green and poisonous as the Silver King’s very soul had become.

And the Fairy King was no more.

\---

[ [Slumbering Weald - Harp Cover] ](https://youtu.be/KjXoldfcvn4)

\---

News spread fast of the Fairy King’s death, as such things often do.

The Pokémon of the land wept, not knowing how their once beloved ruler could do such a cruel thing.

And to his own brother, no less!

However, two great knights had followed the Fairy King loyally in life.

They went to the Silver King’s palace, seeking at least an explanation.

But what they found wasn’t at all the gracious ruler that they had once known.

He was twisted.

Transformed into something beyond even their recognition.

And he made to fight them.

And fight, they did.

One of the knights, who held a sword, launched into battle first.

Dancing on feet as light as the wind itself, it landed blow after blow on the warped king.

The other, who bore a shield, fought too.

As steady as iron, it withstood hit after hit, protecting both itself and its sister from a merciless volley of attacks.

Together they fought, on and on, raging in a battle that lasted all day and all night.

And by the end of it all, the Silver King was defeated.

The knights had avenged their lord.

But their victory  _ was _ hard-fought.

Their bodies were like steel, but they were flesh, too.

And the Silver King’s poison was potent.

The sword and shield Pokémon left the palace, exhausted and spent.

Together, they limped into the forest.

…

And what happened to those Pokémon?

Some say they perished.

Others say they still live, even now.

\---

“...so is that a real story?” one of the little ones asked, skeptically glaring up at the old dragon Pokémon.

_ Ah, children _ , Drampa thought,  _ they either take everything you tell them as gospel or don’t believe a word. _

“Who knows?” Drampa said, cryptically as always when he was questioned on these matters. “You might just be the one to find out!”

The little playful Pokémon protested loudly at that, as did its friends.

So, Drampa, not to be questioned, made a face and an overly dramatic noise that chased them all away.

They’d be back again tomorrow, as they always were. For as much of an old man as Drampa was, he knew how to tell a story, and he knew that even the most skeptical of young Pokémon could never get enough of a well-told tale.


	2. Out From Under the Mountains.

Somewhere mysterious, a Pokémon woke up to the morning sun.

_“Heeeeeeeey, hello?”_

Well, in a way. It was more like it was being roughly shaken awake.

_“You’re not dead, are you???”_

The Pokémon made a noise of complaint and got to its feet, still half asleep.

_“Oh, sweet, you’re alive.”_

It rubbed the sleep out of its eyes with stubby paws and looked at its assailant. A small, black-and-white, bearish…

 _Pancham._ That sounded right.

“What were you doing sleeping all the way out in the forest like this?” the Pancham asked, giving the other Pokémon a curious look. “Shaymin don’t normally come out this far from Magenta Meadow, at least not alone.”

_...what?_

“But I’m... not a Shaymin?” Shaymin said.

Pancham blinked.

“Well, what else couldja be?” she asked.

“I’m a _human,”_ Shaymin insisted.

“Are you off your rocker? Humans are just old Kanghaskhan’s tales.”

“But I _am_ human!” At least, they were the last time they’d checked.

The Pancham tilted her head. “Reeeally? Then why d’you look so much like a Shaymin?”

Shaymin puffed up rebelliously and walked over to the nearest puddle, using their… four legs.

They barely had to look into said puddle to confirm the fact that they _were,_ in fact, at the very least, not _exactly_ human.

“aaaaAAAAAAAA _AAAAAAAAAAAAA.”_

“A-are you okay?” Pancham asked frantically, rushing over to the small shrub hedgehog.

**_“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.”_ **

\---

Once Shaymin had had their fill of their momentary existential crisis, Pancham patted them cautiously on the head.

“Y-ya good, buddy?” she clearly wasn’t used to finding random, screaming Pokémon in the woods, but there was a first time for everything. At least she was trying.

“I think so,” Shaymin said, standing back up from where they had tilted onto their side. “But, I wasn’t kidding about that being a human thing.”

“Yeah, I kinda got that after the fifth minute of screaming,” Pancham said nonchalantly.

“...sorry about that,” Shaymin said.

“Eh, it’s not a problem. Though I take it you’ve got nowhere to go, then?” she asked.

“No, I don’t. I’ll have to figure something out,” Shaymin said, completely oblivious to the smile on Pancham’s face that read like she had just had a brilliant idea and won the lottery all in one go.

“Weeeeell, I know a thing you could do!” Pancham said, hooking her arm around the Shaymin's neck and gesturing up to the sky to punctuate her words. “We could form a rescue team!”

“A what now?” Shaymin asked.

Pancham paused. “Y’know. Rescue teams. Exploration teams? Groups of two or more Pokémon that go out and run errands or explore or rescue other Pokémon from mystery dungeons. That kinda thing. Please tell me you at least know what a mystery dungeon is?”

_A mystery dungeon…_

Something in those words set off a little spark that clicked something in Shaymin’s mind into place.

_“...mystery dungeons,” he had explained to them, once, “are where the real world meets the illusory--an ever-changing place where no Pokémon dare go, for the fear of the unknown. However, it is not so foreboding as that…”_

A hand waved in front of Shaymin’s face, breaking them away from the strange… memory? Yes, that sounded right.

“Earth to shrubbery. Ya still in there?” Pancham asked.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Shaymin shook off their thoughts. The question of where that memory had come from would be better asked later. “Of course I know what a mystery dungeon is.”

“D’ya get what a rescue team is, then?”

Shaymin nodded. “I think so. Rescue teams help Pokémon, right?”

For some reason, the idea of that resonated with Shaymin.

“That’s the idea, yeah!” Pancham said. “So, wanna form a rescue team with me?” she asked excitedly.

It’s not like Shaymin had anywhere else to go. Or really any idea of what to do.

“I’ll join a rescue team with you,” they said.

 _“YES!”_ Pancham shouted, punctuating her shout with a small hop and a fist punching the air.

And, of course, tipping over and falling on the ground.

“I’m fine,” she said, rolling over to stand up, but stopped.

“...Hey, what’s this?” she asked as she stood up.

“What’s what?” Shaymin asked, walking over to her.

Pancham held out a simple, circular brooch with a weird engraved design on it. “Is this yours? This was where you were sleepin’.”

Shaymin squinted at it. “It looks a little familiar, but I can’t really place it.”

“Huh. Weird.” Pancham shrugged and stuck the brooch into a little bag she was carrying with her. “I’ll hold onto it for now. When we get to the guild we’ll figure out a way for you to keep it on you.”

“The guild?” Shaymin asked.

“Y’know, like, the place where we have to go to become a rescue team,” Pancham said. “You’ll see when we get there.”

“That makes sense,” Shaymin said.

“Oh, by the way, since we’re friends now, what’s your name?” Pancham asked. “Well, if you remember it. I’m Briar.”

Shaymin paused. They were pretty sure they had a name, but what was it?

_Oh, yeah._

“My name is Sage,” Shaymin said, smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a note, I am taking suggestions for NPC Pokémon in this story. Not specific OCs, just the species. Feel free to leave a comment if you have a Pokémon you like that you feel doesn't get enough love. I can't guarantee that every suggested Pokémon will show up, but I'll do my best. Thank you for reading!


End file.
